This invention relates to the field of communications. More particularly, a method and apparatus are provided for automatically scheduling or rescheduling a telephone connection when one attempt to establish the connection fails.
When a person misses a telephone call (e.g., does not hear or see her communication device ring) or is aware of the call but does not or cannot answer it—perhaps because she is busy or does not have time for the call—she may allow a voicemail device or service to answer the call, may turn off the ringer, or otherwise ignore it. She may very much want or need to talk to the caller, and may hope to do so as soon as both parties are available, but for now she is unable or unwilling to accept the call.
Unfortunately, because there is no direct communication between parties during a failed telephone connection attempt, no information can be passed between them to indicate their availability for a later connection. The caller may leave a voicemail message, but this permits only one-way communication; there is no way for the caller to learn of the called party's future availability. And, even if the called party leaves a voicemail message to identify his availability, the caller must retrieve the message to receive this information.